This invention pertains generally to electronic data entry devices and, more specifically to keyboard data entry devices. The invention pertains to a new kind of alphanumeric keyboard and a novel system for manually inputting alphanumeric information into data processing equipment such as computers, PDA's, cell phones, and other devices, which, in some embodiments, may send and receive text messages.
As computers continue to evolve into ever-smaller devices such as PDA's, advanced mobile phones, and tablet computers, users still find themselves bound to unwieldy keyboards for data entry. Users generally either have to choose between full-sized keyboards, which negate the main purpose for having a small computer, or they must settle for tiny, hard to use, inefficient keyboards. Until now, there have been several attempts at making smaller sized, efficient data entry devices, but each have had their own limitations.
For decades, the holy grail of data input was considered to be speech recognition, but even with speech recognition technology maturing, there still remain a host of issues that render it less than ideal for most applications. Many attempts have been made to develop effective alternative input devices. These approaches have included gloves that incorporate touch sensors, keyboards that split apart, touch screens, and even virtual keyboards, projected by laser. Attempts at producing one and two-handed combinational keyboards have also been made. Until now, none of these approaches has proven effective or practical.
The advent of portable, touch screen tablet computers and other mobile computer devices makes possible a new class of ergonomic keyboard designs that can exploit a new system of data entry called MATS (Matrix Typing System).